South Africa’s greatest road race is officially on. Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie has assured runners that the 100th running of the Comrades Marathon will take place on 13 June 2027, with the full support of national and provincial government.
“The 100th running of the Comrades Marathon must go ahead, and it will go ahead. Enter the race. Book your accommodation. Tell your family to come and stand on that road,” the Minister said in a statement on Friday. “This race has survived a world war and a pandemic.”
A century of the Ultimate Human Race
First held in 1921, the Comrades has been staged every year except during the war years and the two years affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2027 edition will be a double celebration: the 100th running of the race, and the 50th running of the traditional down route from Pietermaritzburg to Durban, finishing at the Kings Park precinct.
Entries for the historic race are already open, and thousands of runners have committed to the event and begun their preparations, with towns along the famous route gearing up for what government wants to be the biggest edition yet.
“This race does not belong to a federation and does not belong to an association,” McKenzie said. “It belongs to the people who run it, to the families who wait at the finish, and to the towns along that route who have built a hundred years of their identity around one Sunday in June.”
The State steps up for runners
McKenzie confirmed that government would guarantee the necessary state support for the mass-participation event. Approvals relating to event categorisation and safety certification under the Safety at Sports and Recreational Events Act, as well as municipal, traffic, policing and emergency services arrangements, are functions of the State and its authorised structures, he said, and are fully in hand.
The Minister has directed his department to engage the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government, eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and Msunduzi Local Municipality to make sure operational support is in place well ahead of June 2027. The department will also work with organisers to make the centenary race the largest and best-supported Comrades Marathon in its history.
Runners come first
Crucially for the thousands of athletes already deep in training, McKenzie has called on Athletics South Africa and KwaZulu-Natal Athletics to give the Comrades Marathon Association the assurance that no athlete, club or technical official will face any sanction for entering, participating in or officiating at the 100th Comrades.
“These are people who get up at four in the morning to train,” he said, promising that ordinary runners would be protected no matter what administrative discussions continue behind the scenes. The Minister’s assurance followed an online meeting with the race organisers, athletics bodies, KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture Mntomuhle Khawula and the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee.
For the runners, the message is beautifully simple: lace up, enter, and be part of history on the road between Pietermaritzburg and Durban. The details were first reported by SAnews.
Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
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